Four men will appear in the Caledon Magistrate’s Court tomorrow, Monday 28 January 2012 after they were arrested by Fisheries Control Officers (CFO’s) of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and officials from CapeNature last Thursday for contravening their permit conditions.
These men ignored the team’s warnings and entered the Betty’s Bay Marine Protected Area (MPA), a no-fishing zone. Their boat was confiscated in the operation.
Nearly twenty other fishers were issued with written and verbal warnings since then.
These fishers, all interim relief exemption holders, claimed to be in possession of letters from DAFF that give them permission to “anywhere in Zone F”.
Paragraph 3.1 of their permit conditions however states clearly that “this exemption is valid only in South African waters (excluding tidal lagoons, tidal rivers, estuaries and Marine Protected Areas)”.
Paragraph 3.13 of their permit conditions is more explicit when it states: “The exemption holder or elected representative shall not undertake interim relief fishing in Marine Protected Areas as stipulated in Section 43 of the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA), 1998”.
DAFF will not allow anyone to contravene any section of the MLRA or any conditions attached to any permit and call on every permit holder to obey the conditions set out in their permit as such irresponsibility can have dire consequences.
DAFF, together with other law-enforcement agencies such as CapeNature and the South African Police, will monitor activities in the area and call on members of the public to report any entry in the MPA to the nearest police station of by calling the Fisheries Tip-off line on +27 28 313 2703 or +27 28 312 2609.
For more information, please contact:
Lionel Adendorf
Director: Communication Services (Fisheries) in the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Cell: 076 267 5838
